Licence to Kill Longplay (C64) [50 FPS]

Developed by Quixel and published by Domark in 1989.

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For as long as there has been a video game industry, developers have created games to coincide with the release of blockbuster movies. Being one of the hottest properties in the industry, just about every James Bond film released from 1985 onwards would receive a video/computer game adaptation.

It's generally accepted that any game based on a movie is going to be of dubious quality, ranging anywhere from playable to down-right diabolical. I've played a number of 8-bit and 16-bit Bond games in my time, including this one; I can't say any of them left a good impression on me.

So, without further ado, let's take a look at Quixel's (Chris/Anthony West) effort to develop a game based on Licence to Kill, also released in 1989.

The game follows the plot of the film across a number of different stages. All of the stages are viewed from a top-down perspective and require the player to continually progress upwards towards the objective.

Stage one requires the player to pilot a chopper carrying Bond as he chases down Sanchez who is fleeing in a heavily armed Jeep. The player must avoid gunfire from the Jeep whilst taking out heavily armed guard towers that line the roadside. Pushing forward on the joystick will cause the chopper to tilt forwards, increasing it's speed but also lowers it's altitude so the player must take care not to crash into any buildings (or into the ground itself).

Having exited from the chopper, Bond pursues Sanchez on foot through a boatyard. Bond must take care to deal with the many gun-toting henchmen who have taken cover behind structures and objects lying around. Pressing the fire button causes Bond to draw his gun, whilst pushing left/right causes Bond to rotate his aim in a clockwise or anti-clockwise motion. Pressing fire a second time will actually fire the weapon and this stage becomes a case of finding the best place to stand to hit enemies; the enemies are stationary (unless Bond actually walks past them, at which point they will run towards the top of the screen) and they shoot in pre-defined directions, rather than at Bond directly.

Stage three requires the player to pilot a plane with Bond hanging from the undercarriage in an attempt to attach a rope to Sanchez' own plane and capture it. This stage can be quite tricky as the player must guide the plane over the tail-section and press the fire button. Sanchez' plane will dodge and swerve to prevent Bond from attaching the rope, so the player must have a steady hand and quick reflexes to attach the rope before the plane runs out of fuel.

Once the rope is attached, Bond lets go of the plane and parachutes into the sea. Here, Bond must avoid oncoming dinghies full of armed thugs, as well as divers armed with harpoon guns. Pushing forwards on the joystick causes Bond to dive for a limited period of time and is vital to avoiding gunfire from henchmen in the boats. Bond must capture a harpoon, which he uses to fire at the tail-section of a pontoon, resulting a high-speed chase as Bond hauls himself in whilst avoiding oncoming buoys and obstacles.

The final stage requires Bond to parachute onto a petrochemical tanker full of cocaine. Once aboard, Bond must use the vehicle to ram Sanchez' remaining forces off the road and destroy the other remaining drug tankers in the process. This stage proved a little tricky as the truck takes damage if it swerves off the road, so parachuting on top of the truck whilst it's off the tarmac is a bad idea as it takes damage the moment Bond takes the wheel. The enemy vehicles only seem to take damage when hit from left (or if Bond overtakes and slams on the brakes). Once this stage is completed, you are greeted by a basic piece of text announcing that you have beaten the game.

Unfortunately, the game is actually quite bland and isn't very exciting to play. The different stages aren't particularly long or varied enough and most of the challenge comes from the fact that you are forced to replay the entire level from the beginning if you die. Sure, this was the norm for games back in the day, but it's a quick way to make the player eject the tape and play something else.

Having said this, Licence to Kill is certainly not the worst Bond game that I've played. To Quixel's credit, what is on offer is executed well and is solidly built with decent controls, good scrolling and some pretty decent graphics considering everything is viewed from overhead. Another big plus is that the whole game fits into a single load, so there's no horrid reloading for tape owners. It would certainly have been expensive at the full RRP of £9.99, but would have been more palatable following the inevitable budget re-release.
#retrogaming